I have a 90 E350 Club Wagon that won't run. I drove it the other day and put about 40 miles on her with no problems and then parked it here at the house, went out 20 minutes later and she won't run. The fuel filter is empty and no power to the pumps. I have another van so I took the fuel pump relay out and swapped it but still no start. The relay out of the van that won't start and run started the other van so I know that the relay is good. Any help would be appreciated.

 

You need to be checking voltage at the in tank fuel pump connector
That power runs through the tank selector switch if you have dual tanks
You might just need a new fuel pump.. it could be your processor or even your ignition switch
Invest in a pressure gauge so you do not have to crack the system like at the filter to check for gas
16 lbs. of pressure will not run the truck but you will have fuel in the filter
You can force the pumps to run with a jumper wire in the self test connector
So, once you have access to the in tank connector, jump the self test connector to feed power to the pumps and test with a DVOM or test light
I run jumper cables from the battery to the rear of the truck so I have a good ground to test with (saves time and grief)
Good luck with the diagnosis

 

It does have dual tanks but I've just been running off the rear tank because it does have a new pump. The front or mid ship tank needs a new pump so I haven't used it. I bought the van a couple years ago as a project and it wouldn't start and run. That's when I found this website and was able to diagnose and get it running. It's been doing well until a couple days ago but honestly I've only put 5 or 6 hundred miles on it since I got it running. I checked for power at the pressure pump on the frame rail and there is no power, that pump is new also. The fuel filter is empty and rattling in the saddle or whatever you call the carrier or bracket it sits in. I figure if there's no power to the pressure pump then the others probably aren't getting power either. I did check and there seems to be no power at the inertia switch. I don't know the routing or how the voltage travels but it's not getting power to pressure pump or the inertia switch. Heck I just drove this thing. Thanks for any help and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

Happy thanksgiving back
Where did you check the power to the frame pump?
I ask because the connectors used to break off right at the pump (the connector below would have voltage but the pump not)
Yours sounds like a processor or tank selector switch issue
I have a 1990 F series EVTM so here you are (well, almost, you did not specify which engine you have) this should be similar to an Econoline
As you can see, the power comes from the FP relay directly to the inertia switch and on to the pumps (they have the splice number wrong) Use the "T" in the triangle
Maybe you have just a wiring issue
Better check a 1990 Econoline schematic before you get too deep into it

 

 

You may want to pursue an EVTM or book of electrical schematics, those that come from a factory source. There are currently 3 listed on eBay:

1990 EVTM 1

1990 EVTM 2

1991 EVTM 3

Given the year of your van I'd suggest having one of these on-hand for the next electrical issue it develops.

Hope this helps and good luck with repairs!

 

There are two wire nuts twisted on where the frame pump is connected to power about six inches from the pump itself. They are twisted together good and tight so no problems at the connection... just no power. There is no power there plus no power at the inertia switch. There is power to the fuel pump relay at the red wire and with the key on the yellow wire shows power also. Plus I get a split second of power on the green wire when the key is on but it's just a flash.. I'm using a 12 volt test light. I think maybe it's a fuse link from other threads I've read on here but really I'm clueless at this point.

 

wire nuts.... tight.... visually no problems...

this is NOT the way to test a connection

please get a multi meter and some crimp connections.

 

We are just talking about 12 volts correct. It seems that just a 12 volt test light would serve to appropriately test for current. Why would I need a multi meter. In fact I read on another FTE thread dealing with something similar that all you really need is a 12 volt test light to run down the problem. Even if it's not getting 12 volts it would still light up but be dimmer. It's not lighting up at all. There's no power to the pressure pump on the frame or to the inertia switch. That's the problem I'm trying to solve. I thought somebody on here may have ran into this before and may be of some help. I thought that was what this website was all about. I have crimp connectors, crimp pliers and heat shrink but there's no use in a permanent fix until the problem is solved. Thanks for your sarcasm tho hitman, any real information would be better applied..

 

Yea I bought one of those books a couple years back but not needing it in a while I seem to have lost it for the moment. My building is a wreck but I haven't gave up on finding it..

 

why would you need a multimeter... im sorry but if you do not understand why, you may be doomed to not fix this issue.
You have a wiring damage problem that could be traced and tested, but a visual looking at some wire nuts and thinking that is a good way to diagnose the circuit is good is a clear indication you do not understand why. take the wire nuts off, replace with proper connections and check for other places it could be hacked up or damaged would be a good start, testing the lines is also a good way to fix issues.
you have a LOT of good info here to diagnose the issue so im not going to bother trying to explain what to do but a good reason would be that its a OLD AF vehicle that probably had a rodent chew on the harness and old plastic tabs brake off and the harness can rub on things. Start from a known place it works and go from there. testing a relay ohms is a better way to see if they work or are a troublesome issue. SO on and so forth.

 

Hitman I told you I checked at the inertia switch and there is no power. I also checked at the frame pressure pump and there is no power. I didn't just visually look at wire nuts. I took the wire nuts off, made sure the wires were twisted good and then checked it with a 12 volt test light. I even checked it with a multi meter and its showing no volts. Gosh stick with the problem.
Man subford has been on here since 2005 and helped a whole lot of people and he states in a very similar scenario
"Do not worry about voltage, use a test light for all of these tests and not a meter and we will get it going a lot faster."
Now I'm not saying that I won't use a meter before I get this thing rolling but right now it seems that you're just on here to ridicule instead of helping.
As far as testing relay ohms I stated earlier that I took the relay out and put in a different van and the relay worked in that vehicle... it started right up. The relay is good!

 

I"ve now seen two mentions of no power to inertia switch----this is where some sort of chassis wiring schematic would help trace power from the battery to that switch. Nothing downstream from it will be solved until there is +12 VDC to it.

 

cant ohm or meg test, or amp draw test a wire, relay, pump or other device with out the right tools.
a signal tester locator or light on a stick and a wire will tell you where to go but not why its bad or whats wrong with it!
seems like i would at this point, take the battery off and put 12v to the other side of the system and see where it stops being 12v.

 

I found my 90 EVTM and if I'm understanding it correctly the inertia switch gets its power thru an O/LB wire coming from the fuel pump relay yellow wire. The inertia switch only shows 6.77 volts on the O/LB wire. The yellow wire at the relay shows 12.6 volts there but I don't have a an O/LB wire coming off the relay like my manual states. I do have an O/LB wire going to the inertia switch though. The EVTM shows power leaving the fuel pump relay and going to the EEC with a spice where it goes to the inertia switch. I have checked and I'm getting spark to the plugs. Also I grounded the #6 pin on the self test and heard the pressure pump running. I cycled the key 8-10 times but no start and when I got under the van the fuel filter was still empty. It does fire off brake cleaner thru the air filter. Any ideas, anybody?

Also I'm wondering if when I ground pin #6 on the self test and it powers up the pressure pump... does it throw power to all pumps or at least the one I have my selector switch on which is the rear pump.